Digg/Buzz It Up

POLITICO 44

It’s an election that nobody wants to talk about, but one that a handful of ambitious Massachusetts Democrats have been quietly preparing for: the Senate seat held since 1962 by Ted Kennedy.

Kennedy remains engaged behind the scenes of the health care reform debate, even as he battles a cancerous and almost-certainly fatal brain tumor. But the tightknit group of 10 Democrats who represent Massachusetts in the House, all of whom have benefited from Kennedy’s patronage, have amassed a small fortune in advance of his inevitable — and, to many, unthinkable — departure from the Senate.

While members of Congress typically stockpile cash for their next election, the combined $11 million stands out in a one-party state where virtually every House district is safely in Democratic hands. In 2008, six of the 10 House members were unopposed for reelection. The other four won by landslide margins. With no one in the delegation expected to face a competitive challenge in 2010, the fundraising pressures that confront colleagues in other states are largely absent.

Yet five members are sitting on more than $1 million in cash — well over a year before their next election. Add in the two former congressmen often talked about as potential candidates for Kennedy’s seat — Marty Meehan and Kennedy’s nephew Joe Kennedy — and the cash available for a special election or 2012 election, when Ted Kennedy’s term is up, rises to a gaudy $17.2 million.

Not all of the state’s lawmakers are interested in becoming Kennedy’s successor. But the opportunity would be hard to pass up since a special election could very well be a free shot — depending on the timing of the contest, even if they lost, House members might be able to keep their House seats. And candidates would most likely face just one highly competitive election — the Democratic primary — after which the winner would be heavily favored to defeat any Republican opponent.

Even in the absence of significant career risk, the conditions surrounding the putative vacancy put Senate-wannabes in a tricky spot. They would need to raise cash and line up supporters for what would be a five-month-long election sprint — state law mandates that a special election take place between 145 and 160 days after the seat is vacated — without giving even the slightest hint that they are preparing in advance.

“They are in a very careful dance,” said Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor at Tufts University. “Everybody has to publicly pretend as if the end is not near” for Kennedy, who is beloved in Massachusetts, where he has stayed at home and out of the public eye while battling his illness.

“People know by winks and nods who is planning to run, but those conversations are being held close to the vest,” he said. “To talk about running for Kennedy’s seat is to end your candidacy right away.”

That’s quite a contrast from the open jockeying that occurred with the state’s other Senate seat when its 24-year occupant, Democrat John Kerry, was running for president in 2004 — and then again last year, when he was reportedly being considered by then-President-elect Barack Obama for a Cabinet post.

In late 2008, Democratic Reps. Michael Capuano and Stephen Lynch each expressed interest in Kerry’s seat, as did Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who raised eyebrows this year by acknowledging that she paid a top Washington pollster to test her viability as a Senate candidate.

“At the time we did the poll in November, there was a chance that Sen. Kerry might take a position in the Obama administration,” Coakley told The Associated Press, stressing that the poll was primarily focused on state-related issues and was paid for using both state campaign funds and a previously unpublicized federal testing-the-waters account.

Though she reported $666,000 in her state account last week, it’s not transferrable to a federal race, which could put her at a disadvantage to possible candidates from the House delegation.

Good news. Buzzards circling the corpse! It can't happen fast enough. Hopefully the Kennedy that deserves the infamous Kennedy Curse will soon have his day of reckoning with it. Whoever fights over the spoils of nearly 50 years of stupidity on the part of Massachusetts voters can have it.

Lets hope the good people of Taxachusetts understand what another liberal will do to their state and the country. He certainly did not work full time for his constituents, what with all his drinking and carousing. Lets have a balance of power in the corruptachusett state. While we are at it Kerry should also go. TERM LIMITS vote all the incumbents out of office.

As a lifelong Republican, follower of all things political - and resident of Boston, MA - I can tell you that MA is begging for solid candidates. The GOP organization in the state works hard but gets ZERO $'s from the national party and year after year, face enormous challenges just running a candidate against any one of our many entrenched hack, incumbents. The odds of an incumbent losing, whose party won 100% of the contested seats in the prior election, are only about 1 percent.

We voters in MA have created a beast that will require years to slay. Just sad.

Lets hope the good people of Taxachusetts understand what another liberal will do to their state and the country. He certainly did not work full time for his constituents, what with all his drinking and carousing. Lets have a balance of power in the corruptachusett state. While we are at it Kerry should also go. TERM LIMITS vote all the incumbents out of office.

You're a clueless idoit (look it up) Term Limits can not and will not fix anything

It's the private sector interference with government that is the problem the 30,000 odd people on payrolls of the assorted and sundry lobbies that operate under an assortment of names.

They are all the same people whose names are never on a ballot

That consider the votes of the men and women of congress to be commodities to be bought and sold.

Term limits won't fix that the lobbies via their paid operatives and campaign contributions will still get their bought and paid for legislation matter of fact term limits would make it worse.

Because running a campaign is expensive and the assorted political action committees and special interest it would be more than happy to give finical backing to a campaign and then the freshmen congressmen or senator would owe them a ton of favors.

At least now once a Rpresentive or Senator has built their power base they have some ability to pick and chose who they take money from.

Now for a dose of reality you won't like MA is blue state this hasn't changed in decades.

The GOP is losing ground not gaining sorry to burst your little bubble

The parties were also evenly matched on basic party identification in 2001 (which does not take into account the partisan leanings of independents), with 32% identifying themselves as Republicans, 33% as Democrats, and 34% as independents. The 2009 data show the GOP losing five points since then, with identification increasing three points among both Democrats and independents.

At least the new liberal Senator from Massachusetts will not be a murderer. I guess you can say the state is taking baby steps towards progress. The brain cancer couldn't have happened to a nicer man. Now if he could just take former Klan Member Byrd with him....

The objective the Sociocrats should focus on is choosing someone with equal or greater credibility. Pee Wee Herman or Spongebob are qualified and would fit in perfectly. Al Franken could be on the welcoming commitee.

well Kennedy has said he wants his wife to step into the chosen ones seat and as far as Joe Kennedy goes he is in bed with Chavez wheeling and dealing in oil.Kennedy should have stepped down already along with Byrd both are collection no show pay.